GREAT CORMORANT
The great cormorant has a length of 770 to 940mm and a wingspan of 1210 to 1490mm, so is significantly larger than the shag. Juveniles have a white underside, but adults have black upper and undersides. In the Spring, they have a white thigh patch. On their face they have white feathers behind and under the bill and yellow orange coloured skin around the lower mandible. The forehead is flat, and the bill is thick, giving the head a wedge shape appearance. When in flight, the neck looks thick and kinked, with the wingbeats being interspersed with glides. Cormorants sit very low in the water.
Nesting sites for cormorants can be cliff edges at the coast or in trees at the edge of lakes. If nesting in a tree, the cormorants will eventually kill the tree with their droppings. They usually nest in colonies and will return to the same nest year after year. The nest is made of twigs, if in a tree, but bare if on the ground. 3 to 5 eggs are laid and incubated for a month in April or May. After diving for fish, the cormorant likes to dry off with its wing's half spread open in a prehistoric pose. Unfortunately, for identification purposes, shags will also dry off like this.
